From 2008-2011, Sides served as an assistant for Spartak Moscow Region in Russia, where she helped Head Coach Pokey Chatman lead Spartak to consecutive FIBA EuroLeague Championships in 2008 and 2009. Sides also served as an assistant on the Slovakian Women's National Team coaching staff in the same period, helping the team qualify for the European Championships in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The Slovaks took eighth place in 2009, their highest finish of Sides' tenure.

Chicago's problem is obvious.They have championship talent.Unfortunately most of the talent overlaps at three positions(PG,SG,PF).Young is good for 25 minutes per game.However,when she goes to the bench,chicago usually has a defensive liability playing backup Small forward(Delle Donne,Pondexter,Quigley)futhermore,you're not maximizing EDD offensive talent by playing her at SF.What chicago should do is make a offer to phoenix for Bonner,or make a trade for a backup SF.

1.Trade Faulkner & Young for Bonner.Sign Kiesel.Trade Parker or Dos Santos & 1st rd pick for for O'Hea or Stricklen.

2.Trade Parker or Dos Santos & 1st rd pick to SA for M.Curry.Young/Curry can split time at SF.

In general, I don't get the Jenna O'Hea love. She'll be 30 next year, she hasn't shot more than 40% in the WNBA for the past two seasons, and she's never had a PER at an average level in her entire career.

Yes, she is a good three-point shooter, and that's rarer than it should be. But to think she's going to solve any any team's serious problems seems to me to be extremely optimistic.

Maybe it's because she's Australian, maybe it's because she's white, but many people seem to think she's better than her history suggests, and I can't quite figure out why.

Really the longterm comes down to EDD's health. If she is healthy they will be in the mix. If not, not.

1) If they can manage to keep Sloot, Faulkner, Cappie, and Quigley and still improve elsewhere, they should. These four form a very good guard rotation. Faulkner's change of pace and Quigley's shooting/energy off the bench are really a good thing for the team.

2)SF: Send Young to intensive shooting school. (I'm not joking) She could be a real asset if only she could consistently make a 15 foot jumpshot...and finish layups. She has improved so maybe there is hope, but she has also been in the league 10 years so you would think any major improvement would have already occurred. I know I beat on her, but mostly it's that I don't think she should be a starter on any team that wants to win a championship. Still she could be a major contributor if only she could shoot. Anyway I think Pokey's in love with her, so don't think she will be going anywhere so the best Sky fans can hope for is an improvement in shooting. It will be interesting to see how Laney comes back and if she can give her a run for that starter position. I think Laney was decent defensively in college, and definitely has the potential for more offense than Young. She showed some moments as a rookie but was inconsistent. Anyway people seem to be forgetting about her. I don't see the point in adding any SFs (like Stricklen) who can maybe shoot threes but have little defense.

3) posts: This is the real enigma. Boyette was way better than I expected, but I think in the long run she will have some of the same problems we've seen with Griner - foul trouble, doesn't have great stamina and she is 'soft' so can get shoved around. Still, a nice piece to have! A younger DeSouza would have been a great complement. I have always loved Erika but it does look like she is at the end of her career. So if they release Erika who can they get that is better...someone who will be hardnosed and big enough to deal with the other true bigs in the league? This is where the focus needs to be. And it doesn't look like Parker is the answer (at least not Cheyenne) - still it is hard to give up on her as she enters the proverbial third year for a post, which seems to be a pivotal year for posts. But damn, she better go to free throw shooting school as you can't have such a liability on the floor in crucial moments.

4) PFs: Love Breland, and Dos Santos showed a lot in their last game. But both tend to have foul trouble, consistency issues and some limitations. Still, I think between them they could hold down this position as backups for EDD.

At their position in the draft, I don't think they will be finding a quality big. This year's draft is going to be heavy on guards, and the two posts are likely gone earlier. And not sure that signing a FA like Bass or Henry would be an improvement over what they already have.

So I guess from that perspective, if they could trade a guard for a quality big, then hope to fill the guard spot in the draft or thru FA, that's a possibility. Or perhaps Dos Santos and their draft pick though I doubt that would be enough. I'm sure if teams think they can get the 2015 version of Bone, there will be offers going to Phoenix for her but there aren't too many quality bigs out there just floating around. I know Lavender is mentioned often but to me she is more of a PF and I'm not sure why LA would trade her anyway. Not sure where Kia Vaughn is in her contract, but she would be someone of interest too. Perhaps now that Atlanta has EWill, they would be willing to part with Dantas? (OTOH when your other bigs are Gatling, Gray and Hollivay, why would you want to do that!)

_________________“Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.”
― Maya Angelou

Who you keep:
Delle Donne
Pondexter
Young
Quigley
Vandersloot
Boyette
De Souza (only safe because she's a proven veteran)

On the chopping block:
Breland (inconsistent, better without EDD?)
Dos Santos (Good but in Pokey's dog house, why did she not play much?)
Faulkner (only here because she's the most overqualified back up PG in the league)
Parker (improved, but expendable)
Laney (has not done much, though injured)

We need a post, as we can probably get a young guard/wing in the draft. We have good young post players but it would be good to get a difference maker. I think you could group some of the chopping block up to make trades or maybe send Faulkner to a team like Connecticut who needs guard help. I would avoid losing Faulkner because of the age of our backcourt but she does have the most value.

Some posts to target that come to mind include Lavendar (likely a long shot), Jonquel Jones (I think she has great potential), Kizer, Tuck (returns home), Cambage (why not?), Alleyne (low trade value, unproven but maybe work the risk).

I would suggest Bone but she's a headcase.

_________________"Don't do something until you get it right, do it until you can't do it wrong."
- Geno Auriemma

Bone is a team disrupter. She does not know how to get along with her team. Also, she continues to want to shoot the 3-pointer. She is not qualified to shoot the 3-pointer. She will not listen to the coach on how she should play in the paint. Noooooooooooooo

In general, I don't get the Jenna O'Hea love. She'll be 30 next year, she hasn't shot more than 40% in the WNBA for the past two seasons, and she's never had a PER at an average level in her entire career.

Yes, she is a good three-point shooter, and that's rarer than it should be. But to think she's going to solve any any team's serious problems seems to me to be extremely optimistic.

Maybe it's because she's Australian, maybe it's because she's white, but many people seem to think she's better than her history suggests, and I can't quite figure out why.

No one's asking Jenna to be a 25 minute 15 ppg scorer.Just a 14-18 minute role player off the bench.Jenna is the #1 active 3ptfg shooter & 6th all-time at 41%.Jenna's a very good defender.She has the size,length & lateral quickness to compete with the better wing players in the league.

I'd also like to see the sky make a trade for a solid SF. I don't really want to see DeSouza go because she can still provide veteran presence in the paint. I think she did a lot better off the bench this year. I wouldn't mind a player like O'Hea or Strickland. Of the two I'd much rather get Strickland. If it was up to me Send Laney and the first round pick to Connecticut. Miller doesn't seem to care for Strickland so she'd probably be an easy get. I'd personally like to keep Faulkner and Breland just because of Sloot and Delle Donne's injury history. I think the only way you get O'Hea is to send Faulkner to Seattle. The sky also need to consider that Cappie isn't getting any younger. Pokey needs to get consistent with her rotations and give Quigley more playing time.

In general, I don't get the Jenna O'Hea love. She'll be 30 next year, she hasn't shot more than 40% in the WNBA for the past two seasons, and she's never had a PER at an average level in her entire career.

Yes, she is a good three-point shooter, and that's rarer than it should be. But to think she's going to solve any any team's serious problems seems to me to be extremely optimistic.

Maybe it's because she's Australian, maybe it's because she's white, but many people seem to think she's better than her history suggests, and I can't quite figure out why.

No one's asking Jenna to be a 25 minute 15 ppg scorer.Just a 14-18 minute role player off the bench.Jenna is the #1 active 3ptfg shooter & 6th all-time at 41%.Jenna's a very good defender.She has the size,length & lateral quickness to compete with the better wing players in the league.

I think its because she is a pretty good versatile defender and also a good 3pointer shooter. There arent a lot of players that do both pretty well

_________________"Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson were and are the dynamic duo. They're the one-two punch. They're all the clich�s possible to describe people that perfectly complement each other, who make each other better and also bring out the best in the team." �Karen Bryant

From 2008-2011, Sides served as an assistant for Spartak Moscow Region in Russia, where she helped Head Coach Pokey Chatman lead Spartak to consecutive FIBA EuroLeague Championships in 2008 and 2009. Sides also served as an assistant on the Slovakian Women's National Team coaching staff in the same period, helping the team qualify for the European Championships in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The Slovaks took eighth place in 2009, their highest finish of Sides' tenure.

I think that means a boost in pay. And possibly a falling out with Pokey. With her resume of assistant coaching I am surprised she can't make a jump into a head coaching position right now. Although she might not want one.

The thing is, that didn't happen. Pretty early this season, Breland had to start trying to learn how to play the 3, because they realised they wanted Delle Donne at the 4 as much as possible. It made things awkward, and made Breland a much less effective player.

That's why I'm not sure they need another post any more. If they believe in Boyette - who definitely had positive stretches this season, but also had some JaVale McGee-esque moments of "Get her off the floor!"ness - then you've got most of the post minutes covered. They could use another wing with size, but in fairness that was probably meant to be Laney until the injury.

Better health, better chemistry, better luck, another year together as a unit, and maybe better defensive coaching might be all they need.

I wouldn't be surprised if De Souza, Pondexter or Quigley were unrestricted free agents. Vandersloot might be getting close unless she signed a long contract recently, and with Breland having been out of the league and then signed I'm not sure how that works, if she is out of contract does she go unrestricted or reserve?

Defense is the problem in Chicago which makes trading Young, one of there better defenders difficult. Boyette and EDD is a decent tandem upfront, and Dos Santos and Breland are a nice bench post combo.

Vandersloot, Pondexter, Faulkner and Quigley are all good but are any of them good defenders?

If De Souza can stick around another year maybe see if Dallas would want a true PG and some size up front Faulkner and C. Parker for Christmas. IDK Christmas is a good player for Dallas but if they see Powers moving into the starting line up, they want Philips veteran presence, and they stick with Sims/Diggins a decent back up PG might pique some interest, and Parker can give them more then Hamblin backing up Paris, she is already a better defensive option than Paris and if Cheyenne takes a step forward she could be an 18 minute a night option for Dallas at center when they want to go bigger. OK not sure Dallas goes for it, but Faulkner running with Sims and Diggins and Powers depending on who is on the floor has some excitement and potential attached to it.

Christmas could start at the 3 in Chicago and slide over to the two when Young comes in, Christmas and Young gives Chicago a whole different look than there current options. You can also slide Cappie over to back up Vanderlsoot allowing for a bigger perimeter when you use Christmas or Young at the 2 spot. Christmas also shoots the 3 which can keep the floor spread for EDD and gives her another shooting threat on the floor to pass too when she is double or tripled.

Chicago could get a nice steady back up point like L. Allen at #9, or Romero.

What they need will pretty much depend on how effective Cappie will be next season. Will she still play as a decent 2nd scorer on the team? Or will her game fade even more which means they get even more depended on EDD. How will Laney return from injury and will she continue to work on her shot like she did overseas in Australia last season? Because she could be a decent defender at the SF position.

EDD has to play the PF position. No doubt about that but that probably means that Breland will have to come off the bench because her at SF doesnt work out at all.

_________________"Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson were and are the dynamic duo. They're the one-two punch. They're all the clich�s possible to describe people that perfectly complement each other, who make each other better and also bring out the best in the team." �Karen Bryant

CHI's biggest problem seems to be not being able to rely on Delle Donne to stay healthy. And they already have a big perimeter player in Laney, so no crazy trades needed. I don't see Laney getting kicked to the curb just because she got injured and apparently forgotten. Dos Santos looked good down the stretch. She seems to be getting it. I'd keep her over de Souza, but keep de Souza if you think she's a good locker room presence. Get healthy and start Boyette from Day 1 next season. No major moves.

Delle Donne will be making max next season, but that shouldn't be a problem.
#9 pick doesn't necessarily have to be a SG, if Laney can be put in that spot. I believe that's where she was playing when she went down. If they are lucky, they can draft Coffey (NW product), Davis, or Vivians (early dec) with #9.

I could see Parker getting traded for table scraps or cut, or possibly keep her and trade Breland for something better (first round pick?)

In general, I don't get the Jenna O'Hea love. She'll be 30 next year, she hasn't shot more than 40% in the WNBA for the past two seasons, and she's never had a PER at an average level in her entire career.

Yes, she is a good three-point shooter, and that's rarer than it should be. But to think she's going to solve any any team's serious problems seems to me to be extremely optimistic.

Maybe it's because she's Australian, maybe it's because she's white, but many people seem to think she's better than her history suggests, and I can't quite figure out why.

No one's asking Jenna to be a 25 minute 15 ppg scorer.Just a 14-18 minute role player off the bench.Jenna is the #1 active 3ptfg shooter & 6th all-time at 41%.Jenna's a very good defender.She has the size,length & lateral quickness to compete with the better wing players in the league.

In her last three seasons, she's 77 for 204 (37.7%) from three and as mentioned, she'll be 30 next year.

And I have to say I don't see her as being able to compete with the better wing players in the league ... she's about even with the reserves, perhaps, but she's only started 21 out of the 153 games she's played in the WNBA.

In general, I don't get the Jenna O'Hea love. She'll be 30 next year, she hasn't shot more than 40% in the WNBA for the past two seasons, and she's never had a PER at an average level in her entire career.

Yes, she is a good three-point shooter, and that's rarer than it should be. But to think she's going to solve any any team's serious problems seems to me to be extremely optimistic.

Maybe it's because she's Australian, maybe it's because she's white, but many people seem to think she's better than her history suggests, and I can't quite figure out why.

No one's asking Jenna to be a 25 minute 15 ppg scorer.Just a 14-18 minute role player off the bench.Jenna is the #1 active 3ptfg shooter & 6th all-time at 41%.Jenna's a very good defender.She has the size,length & lateral quickness to compete with the better wing players in the league.

In her last three seasons, she's 77 for 204 (37.7%) from three and as mentioned, she'll be 30 next year.

And I have to say I don't see her as being able to compete with the better wing players in the league ... she's about even with the reserves, perhaps, but she's only started 21 out of the 153 games she's played in the WNBA.

Not fair,Jenna's 31% 3ptfg% this season skews her overall percentage for the prior 3 seasons.Jenna had the 4th best 3ptfg% in 2014(.403),and 9th best percentage in 2015(.383) Shooters need rhythm,repetition and consistent minutes.O'Hea battled some injuries this season,so her practice/playing time was erratic.The sudden drop in percentage is just a one year aberration.I don't believe wear and tear is a concern.O'Hea has accumulated just 2494 minutes in 159 career games.Like really you're pointing out that O'Hea will turn 30 next season ,Jenna just turned 29 yrs old four months ago.I could run off a list of SG/SF that are older and have more mileage.I'm not calling O'Hea a defensive stopper,but she's a better deterrent than most of the SF's in the league.There are not many above average defenders that can also shoot 40% from 3pt range.Futhermore,How many games O'Hea has started is irrelevant.

Jenna shot 39% from 3pt range during the 2014/2015 seasons despite the highest scorer on seattle averaging only 12.9 ppg. Imagine how many open looks Jenna would get playing alongside Edd/Vanderloot/Faulkner/Pondexter.

Just heard from a friend in Chicago, to which I agree with them. The first thing the Sky needs is a new President.

_________________If you cannot inspire yourself to read a book about women's basketball, or any book about women's sports, you cannot inspire any young girl or boy to write a book about them. http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/Richardstrek

People sometimes think she's bland -- I was warned she was a boring interview -- but it's not true. What's true is that she has learned to stay quiet. She's learned that people aren't really interested in the truth of your experience if it doesn't confirm their theories about you.

_________________Come love come, the road lies low
The way is long and hard I know

People sometimes think she's bland -- I was warned she was a boring interview -- but it's not true. What's true is that she has learned to stay quiet. She's learned that people aren't really interested in the truth of your experience if it doesn't confirm their theories about you.

Noticed Chicago put out a advertisement for season tickets. Elena Delle Donne is the largest figure on the advertisement. I cannot imagine they would not
re-sign her with that kind of promotion. The Chicago fans would go nuts.

Chicago administration would not be that dumb would they?

(Comment after Pilight announced a new coach was hired)

Not happy about a person to run a basketball team with no head coaching experience

Last edited by UofDel_Alum on 12/08/16 5:53 pm; edited 4 times in total

University of Cincinnati - four-time Bearcat Scholar honoree, three-time Defensive Player Award recipient and helped lead the Bearcats to a Conference USA Championship. She graduated in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in health promotion and education
1999-2000 Notre Dame strength and conditioning coach
2000-2002 director of basketball operations for the University of Tennessee Lady Vols
2002-2009 assistant WBB coach at Xavier
2009-2013 director and head coach of the Tucson HEAT Basketball Association in Arizona (The Tucson HEAT is a non-profit club basketball team for boys and girls from grades 3-12.)
2014-2015 men’s and women’s basketball analyst for ESPN3 and Big East Digital Network
2015-2016 LA Sparks assistant coach

Pretty weird to hire someone with no head coaching experience, but sometimes you can get lucky pulling a rabbit out of a hat. At least she has been around the game in some capacity for quite a long time and surely learned something under Agler. I'm willing to let her show what she's got.
And frankly when you consider all the re-treads, it's kind of hard to get excited about anybody out there.

_________________“Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.”
― Maya Angelou

Pretty weird to hire someone with no head coaching experience, but sometimes you can get lucky pulling a rabbit out of a hat. At least she has been around the game in some capacity for quite a long time and surely learned something under Agler. I'm willing to let her show what she's got.
And frankly when you consider all the re-treads, it's kind of hard to get excited about anybody out there.

There's a fine line between someone with no coaching experience and a retread.

_________________Come love come, the road lies low
The way is long and hard I know

Pretty weird to hire someone with no head coaching experience, but sometimes you can get lucky pulling a rabbit out of a hat. At least she has been around the game in some capacity for quite a long time and surely learned something under Agler. I'm willing to let her show what she's got.
And frankly when you consider all the re-treads, it's kind of hard to get excited about anybody out there.

There's a fine line between someone with no coaching experience and a retread.

What is going to be of interest to me is to see how Amber handles the team. If there was a difference between Pokey and EDD it was Pokey liked to be an X and O's type of coach on offense. Elena has publicly stated she would like the team to play as a team. That is how she played at Univ. of Delaware.

EDD feels the team played better when they had a fast break off the boards and not set up into a particular offense. EDD would like to see more passing on offense. As an example since I know EDD best she likes to make up her own mind if she wants the ball at the 3-point line or in the paint. On the base line or at the free throw line. She realizes a team will defend her a certain way at the beginning of a game and in the middle of the game a team will change how they defend her. She is a very intelligent player and she can recognize very quickly a weakness of a defense.

Two things are very important to EDD, TEAM BOND AND TEAM CHEMISTRY. She feels this is more important than X's and O's. If Amber works these two things into Chicago's offense Amber will do well. Chicago has very talented guards that pass very well and think on their feet. This can help with team bond and chemistry.

Interesting comment...I always thought Pokey was really, really weak in the x's and o's department. A lot of times it just looked like "hand the ball to EDD and see what she can manufacture" with no help from screens, pick and rolls, pick and pops, team movement, etc... Now you're saying just the opposite.

_________________“Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.”
― Maya Angelou

I like it, but I'm remembering that Geno played EDD at center for some minutes with Stewart at the Power Forward. And the Sky tried some small lineups having the 3 guards out there, with Breland and EDD. I think they like the option of having Breland around at PF for close out. Her play is very good for being on shorter minutes.

Interesting comment...I always thought Pokey was really, really weak in the x's and o's department. A lot of times it just looked like "hand the ball to EDD and see what she can manufacture" with no help from screens, pick and rolls, pick and pops, team movement, etc... Now you're saying just the opposite.

I believe you are agreeing with me myrtle. The offense under Pokey at times did just consist of giving the ball to EDD and let her manufacture points. That was the play Pokey was calling. That made EDD play against five players. A lot of pressure on her. EDD wants the team to recognize the best way to defeat a defense. EDD wants the team to be so close the will play with no verbal communication. The team knows what they have to do by working together to break a defense. No pre-existing X's and O's.

Interesting comment...I always thought Pokey was really, really weak in the x's and o's department. A lot of times it just looked like "hand the ball to EDD and see what she can manufacture" with no help from screens, pick and rolls, pick and pops, team movement, etc... Now you're saying just the opposite.

I believe you are agreeing with me myrtle. The offense under Pokey at times did just consist of giving the ball to EDD and let her manufacture points. That was the play Pokey was calling. That made EDD play against five players.

That doesn't sound like a play and if Pokey was doing that she doesn't sound like an "X's and O's coach".